Costa Rican Volcano Erupts in a Shower of 8 Million Flowers!

Normally, news of a sudden volcanic eruption in a habited part of the world is immediately followed by reports of death and destruction, but not today! In a brilliant marketing move, Sony created a video of the Irazú Volcano in Costa Rica exploding to demonstrate the breathtaking visual quality of its newest televisions. But since Irazú is inactive, Sony used magical camera tricks (and some awesome behind-the-scenes-acrobatics) to show the inferno spewing eight million colorful flowers instead. Watch the eye-candy video above, and then keep reading to find out how it was made.

The Sony advertisement debuted today to celebrate the launch of its 55” and 65” X9 4K televisions in the United Kingdom. The new TVs are said to combine fine detail, breath-taking picture quality and rich color for a viewing experience that no other brand can deliver (of course). We don’t care much about the televisions, but we can say that other TV manufacturers will have to work pretty hard to top Sony’s commercial-making prowess.

“The ad features millions of colourful petals exploding from a volcano, rushing through exotic locations down to a Costa Rican village. Shot in surroundings that offer dramatic landscapes and composition, the ad perfectly demonstrates Sony’s pioneering 4K technology, which offers 4 times the detail of Full HD and allows extraordinarily sharp, refined detail,” reports Fareastgizmos.

To create the magnificent experience, Sony had to dump three-and-a-half tons worth of petals into the volcano and around the small Costa Rican town (what a weird day that must have been for people who live there and what a colossal waste of flowers!) According to Sony, everything seen in the ad was achieved in-camera, and no computer graphics were used. Skeptical? You can see for yourself in the making-of video below.